Pen targets expansion in D&O with new hire

Pen Underwriting has named a new head of directors’ and officers’ (D&O), a newly created role for the group, as it looks to expand its presence in that market.

Neil Bowdrey joins Pen from Liberty Specialty Markets where he has been D&O portfolio manager for Asia Pacific since 2017, based in Perth, Western Australia. Before that he was financial lines manager for Western Australia at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, following a similar role at AIG.

Bowdrey had relocated to Australia from London in 2005. Before that he held senior professional and financial risks roles in London at both brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates.

At Pen Bowdrey is based in London and reports to Adrian Scott, managing director of international and financial lines. He is responsible for building out new niche industry segments both in the UK and overseas.

The appointment forms part of Pen’s stated strategy of accelerated growth and its ambition to become a £1 billion gross written premium underwriting and distribution business.

Scott said: “D&O is a dynamic market with considerable pricing momentum that is attracting new capacity to the marketplace. With Neil’s appointment and Pen’s strong distribution platform for insurer partners, we can provide excellent distribution for new and existing D&O capacity. Given the current market dynamics it’s the ideal time to invest in expanding and evolving Pen’s D&O offering to the forefront of our international & financial lines portfolio.”

Nick Wright, chief business development officer at Pen Underwriting, added: “Investing in top industry talent like Neil, to enable us to expand into new niche areas, write more diverse risks and in turn support our broker clients in growing their own businesses, is a core part of our strategic mix for accelerated growth. Alongside acquisitions and innovation, investing in strategic new hires is what will enable Pen to really move the dial.”

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